Prepare A 10-Year Plan

Establishing what direction you want your life to go in requires a lot of organization, a little humility, and a considerable amount of self-reflection. In order to go after that high-paying job, you will have to sit at your desk with all your planning tools and admit just how qualified you are now, or will likely be in the future.

What have you done in your life that has put you exactly where you are now? How can you use those past experiences to reap success in the future? It's useful to start your future planning with questions like these, however silly or cliché they might seem.

why the 10-year plan?

In order to achieve your goals, you must want and know how to achieve them. Outlining your goals is an excellent first step both organizationally and motivationally — it'll also help you keep track of the course of your improvement. Here's why:

Divide and conquer One of the best assets of the 10-year plan is that it allows you to break the sometimes daunting future into smaller, more manageable sections. Short-term planning allows you to "divide and conquer" long-term plans that might otherwise seem unattainable. For example, someone who wants to buy a house must first commit a few years to saving money and achieving financial stability in order to qualify for a mortgage. In other words, you must take things one step at a time.

Time is on your side Thinking in terms of these smaller sections can help you hone in on your goals while reassuring yourself of your present situation. If you plan where you want to be in 10 years, and those goals are more important to you than immediate gratification, then you will feel better about your trying work days.